The Rutland Regional Planning Commission will begin to collect flood data for the Rutland region.

The work will focus on Act 16, which requires a “Flood Resilience Element” to be included municipal and regional plans.

The RRPC will consult with the state Rivers Program to research flood hazards in Vermont to develop a flood resilience element for its regional plan. The RRPC will also work with all 27 municipalities in the region to complete a flood resilience plan checklist.

This preliminary checklist provides a menu of steps that could be taken to improve flood resiliency and is intended to help a municipality get started in a self-assessment. The RRPC will also hold a training workshop to inform local officials about flood resiliency.

Towns may use the study results in identifying vulnerable areas and to enhance their basic emergency plans, hazard mitigation plans and town plans. The RRPC will integrate the results into the regional plan.